Monthly Archives: September 2013

Yesterday, Georgia Bulldogs played against LSU Tigers ( it’s a team of Louisiana State University). Bulldogs won!!! 44-41 LSU Tigers is a strong team, they are 6th in the country (Georgia Bulldog is at 11th place). So, that was a big deal. Georgia is crazily happy. My husband with his college buddies went to see a game in Athens, GA. I post a picture he took when it said that dogs won. He also tried to take a picture of cute UGA, but the dog was far and I got to see only his little house and cheerleading girls around him.I found similar picture in internet.

There were 85 000 people and a big celebration after the game. It reminds me the time when Saint-Petersburg team Zenit won and whole city was celebrating). I am surprised that Americans care for college football much more than State football. Anyway, Bulldogs won probably because they had 85 000 of fans and little UGA on their side, while LSU Tigers came with less enthusiasm and, obviously, without a tiger.

Later, I went to Farmers Market with my husband and I saw there dried foxys (Cantharellus cibarius) for very high price for 50 grams. “See! We could get it for free!” – I exclaimed.

That was 10 years ago, and after that we lived in Russia for 8 years and my husband learnt some differences in mushrooms and he accepted the fact you pick them in wild. Now, we came back to Atlanta and recently my daughter and I went to Starbucks close to our neighborhood. On the way back I collected mushrooms you see on the picture. I recognized mohovik (Boletus variegatus) and even few legendary white mushrooms (Boletaceae) Don’t confuse please with British white mushroom which is simple Champignons. I was almost sure they were good to eat, however, Continue reading →

Speaking of cultural differences, the recent thing came into my mind is mushroom picking. Mushroom picking is a part of European culture. From Wikipedia.org “Mushroom hunting, mushrooming, mushroom picking, mushroom foraging, and similar terms describe the activity of gathering mushrooms in the wild, typically for eating. This is popular in most of Europe, including the Nordic, Baltic, and Slavic countries and the Mediterranean Basin as well as in Australia, Japan, Korea, Canada, and the northwestern, Indian subcontinent, northeastern, Midwestern and AppalachianUnited States.” I wouldn’t speak for Appalachian United States, but I can say for American South, that they have no idea about this innocent entertainment. I think this good, because there is no competition here. I would even say that in Russia there is a definitely Mushroom hunting, but here it’s more like mushroom picking.

Dr. N. was as sweet and nice as any American dentist I can imagine. He was overly polite, which never is a good sign, had respectable gray hair with a perfect haircut and wore good cologne. He looked at my teeth with a polite smile, but then suddenly he seemed worried. He completely ignored my weak statement that I visited a Russian dentist just a few months before and did deep cleaning in a very good and expensive clinic. He nodded and told me cruelly: “It doesn’t count”. Continue reading →

One of the first things to do before moving to the United States is to visit your dentist. I knew that, and I took care of my teeth a few days before my departure. At least I thought I did. But on one Sunday when my mother–in–law came to visit, I cooked a nice lunch. Cooking never was a problem for me, but when your mother-in –law is around, everything becomes more complicated. She is very nice and sweet, but she is still the mother of my husband. I don’t know how it is culturally in the US, but in my country, usually, the mother- in–law is not a “girl’s best friend”. At a minimum, you get nervous having her around. That is what happened to me as well. I was nervous, and, therefore, I was talkative in addition to my regular chattiness. In the middle of a conversation about great Russian literature, I bit a cherry a little bit too passionately, and with horror, I realized that one of my teeth I so lovingly took care of back home was cracked. Shall I say that my day was ruined, my week was ruined, my month was ruined as well? At the end of a month I finally decided that I have to go visit an American dentist. Going to the dentist is a famous affair for Russians. Historically, we don’t have impressive teeth for a number of reasons I can only guess at. Many ex-Soviets I know in the US and back home have problems with their teeth, and it is a sore topic for my people.

I started to look around for a trustworthy dentist. I asked people I knew for their recommendations. I checked my husband’s insurance policy. I read on-line. Finally, a lady from my neighborhood suggested going to our neighbor who has his office not too far from our house. After serious mental preparation and a phone conversation with the dentist, I made an appointment and went to his office (to be continued)

Thanks God, even my husband went to University of Georgia and he loved and support bulldog’s, I would call him to be a moderate fan compare to really extreme samples I saw. Let’s say, his cousin, Brandon, is one of the examples I personally know. He not only follow team whenever they go, decorated his house in bright Bulldogs’ red and black colors, he also did the same ….on his wedding. And Brandon is a serious and busy person in everything else, so this is not due to lack of things to do. He wasn’t married for a long time and I had a deep suspicions Continue reading →